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As part of a series of briefing documents published for new ministers today, a Department of Defence document said a high level inter-departmental group is preparing a report for the Government with recommendations on replacing the main government jet which went out of service in 2014.

The Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) is currently served by one small Air Corps learjet capable of flights to the UK and central Europe.

This is being examined as part of an overall equipment purchase programme for the Defence Forces that will see the Navy's flagship LE Eithne being replaced with a new large multi-role vessel (MRV).

Why? I mean clearly nobody since him have considered it vital or even needed at all. It's not like they have far to go to Baldonnel or Dublin Airport...

Both are at least an hour away, even if you can close off certain roads. But in the event that either troops or Gardai. or even medical personnel were needed there in a hurry, wouldn't the option of a helipad be a bonus?.

Both are at least an hour away, even if you can close off certain roads. But in the event that either troops or Gardai. or even medical personnel were needed there in a hurry, wouldn't the option of a helipad be a bonus?.

That, or as a central pad to rapidly deploy ARW to a central terrorist incident. You never know when you might miss such a facility until it's gone.

That, or as a central pad to rapidly deploy ARW to a central terrorist incident. You never know when you might miss such a facility until it's gone.

Stephens Green or Merrion Square??

The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honour. They have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiqués are belated, insincere, incomplete.....It is a disgrace to our imperial record, and may soon be too inflamed for any ordinary cure.We are to-day not far from a disaster.

Both are at least an hour away, even if you can close off certain roads. But in the event that either troops or Gardai. or even medical personnel were needed there in a hurry, wouldn't the option of a helipad be a bonus?.

Only an hour away if you don't have a garda driver and garda traffic corps escort. Then the don is about 15 mins away.

German 1: Private Schnutz, I have bad news for you.
German 2: Private? I am a general!
German 1: That is the bad news.

Whats to shut down? its a flat surface with no moving parts ffs. Complete lack of joined up thinking, let the don survey it and carry out a few landings and hey presto another useable asset at no cost.

strange - im sure that the helipad was mentioned here a few weeks ago and then suddenly ended up mentioned in a newspaper... or am i wrong!? Its obscure enough a topic ?

Also this

"Haughey was the last Taoiseach to have used it. Bertie Ahern, Barry Cowen and Enda Kenny didn't bother with it," a source said.

Who is Barry Cowen? a FF TD, that's all! and who is this "source"? because they might need a new one who actually knows the names of previous leaders!

Last edited by morpheus; 14th February 2018 at 10:07.

"He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
"No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

Dail already has MP detachment to secure pad/chopper. No civvies to clear.

Probably should have made my point clearer......

If Dail helipad is gone there are other suitable central sites to land ARW, etc. for a Dublin central terrorist response. It would take time to get resources to area and no doubt there will be no shortage of gardai capable of clearing civvies, etc.

The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honour. They have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiqués are belated, insincere, incomplete.....It is a disgrace to our imperial record, and may soon be too inflamed for any ordinary cure.We are to-day not far from a disaster.

I, of course, defer to the wisdom of my former Air Corps colleagues on the matter but judging from the images it would appear that there are more suitable LZs in the immediate vicinity of Govt building - the open space in the Dail environs, the junction of Merrion Street Upper and Merrion Square south, the square itself etc, etc rather than the roof of the building. Certainly in an emergency situation these locations can be easily secured and the public could not object in those circumstances. However if your aim is to have a handy location where you could be dropped off by your son's helicopter without attracting the attention of the great unwashed or risk having your tailor made shirts creased by the grubby paws of the voting public - well then ...........

“The nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards.”
― Thucydides

Haughey had a lot of things done to suit himself, such as an exclusion zone around his island and a generator built FOC by the ESB, so he's no guideline to sensible State use.....I agree that a discrete landing pad has it's uses, even if
only for a 135-sized helo.

If Dail helipad is gone there are other suitable central sites to land ARW, etc. for a Dublin central terrorist response. It would take time to get resources to area and no doubt there will be no shortage of gardai capable of clearing civvies, etc.

I, of course, defer to the wisdom of my former Air Corps colleagues on the matter but judging from the images it would appear that there are more suitable LZs in the immediate vicinity of Govt building - the open space in the Dail environs, the junction of Merrion Street Upper and Merrion Square south, the square itself etc, etc rather than the roof of the building. Certainly in an emergency situation these locations can be easily secured and the public could not object in those circumstances. However if your aim is to have a handy location where you could be dropped off by your son's helicopter without attracting the attention of the great unwashed or risk having your tailor made shirts creased by the grubby paws of the voting public - well then ...........